The invention relates to a method for automatically guiding a mining machine, in which method a route needed by a mining machine is determined for the machine as successive route points in a coordinate system fixed in relation to the mine and in which the location of the mining machine on the route is determined using at least one positioning device provided in the mining machine.
When mining machines, particularly unmanned ones, are used, it is necessary that they can be guided along a specific route reliably and safely. A problem encountered here is that the route should be determined with sufficient precision. A further problem is that as the operation continues and situations change, it must be possible to re-determine the routes of the vehicle in a precise and reliable manner.
It is known per se to use different systems and methods to guide mining machines to travel automatically, without a driver. Such prior art solutions employ either control cables embedded in the underlying surface or separate control signs or location detectors, which can be used for wired or wireless control of the position and movement of the vehicles. It is also known to use a wireless control system based on satellite navigation for controlling an automatically moving vehicle.
The use of solutions based on control cables is problematic in mines because the laying of control cables to mining tunnel floors is extremely expensive and the rubble carried in mines may damage the cables as vehicles cross the cable lines. Further, it is not conceivable to lay cables to new, continuously extending mining areas. As regards systems based on satellite positioning, they do not function in mines and are therefore inapplicable there.